Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="tomBitonti" data-source="post: 5699278" data-attributes="member: 13107">In regards to HP and notions of &quot;damage&quot;, there is a target here which varies by the reader:For some folks, a single major wound, say, a knife to the gut, or a non-grazing bullet wound, is debilitating, and either immediately lethal, or lethal if not treated immediately (because of shock or blood loss).For other folks, the model is more akin to popular fiction, especially television, where a person can be shot in the shoulder or gut, pull together, at first struggling, but in a few minutes able to carry on with only a slight inconvenience.&nbsp; This not limited to clearly extreme wounds (a shot to the gut), but also to blows that would in most cases be very very damaging.&nbsp; Falling through plate glass, or getting a full kick to the head, normally are very damaging events.&nbsp; Or, say, just standing within 10' of open lava would be lethal (to my understanding), not to mention contact or immersion.In a similar vein, the potential for healing most wounds simply isn't there.&nbsp; You can mend a broken bone (perhaps, but what about a compound fracture)?&nbsp; Many injuries have permanent repercussions, that is, don't ever fully heal, and leave a lingering partial disability.That means, right off, that one has to decide a level of &quot;realism&quot; for healing and damage, and have to decide how much to put in vigor (or exhaustion) as a property, and that will strongly color one's views on HP and the secondary issue of healing surges.What I'm hearing as a criticism of healing surges (as unrealistic) seems more a statement either about hit points themselves, and that can only work (in my view) as a criticism of healing surges to the degree that healing surges amplify the underlying problem of hit points.I'm also hearing, to a degree, complaints about how healing surges muddy the already murky description of hit points.&nbsp; I can agree with this, especially considering the term &quot;healing surge&quot;, emphasis on &quot;healing&quot;.&nbsp; Better, &quot;heroic recovery&quot; or &quot;second wind&quot;, which are better aligned with renewed vigor, rather than the spontaneous healing of non-trivial injuries.&nbsp; I can definitely see a Warlord literally cussing a fellow out, loudly, to get back into a fight, as a way of providing a &quot;heroic recover&quot;.&nbsp; (Although, that does run into a problem re: &quot;Cure Wounds&quot; from a Cleric.)TomB</blockquote>

[QUOTE="tomBitonti, post: 5699278, member: 13107"] In regards to HP and notions of "damage", there is a target here which varies by the reader: For some folks, a single major wound, say, a knife to the gut, or a non-grazing bullet wound, is debilitating, and either immediately lethal, or lethal if not treated immediately (because of shock or blood loss). For other folks, the model is more akin to popular fiction, especially television, where a person can be shot in the shoulder or gut, pull together, at first struggling, but in a few minutes able to carry on with only a slight inconvenience. This not limited to clearly extreme wounds (a shot to the gut), but also to blows that would in most cases be very very damaging. Falling through plate glass, or getting a full kick to the head, normally are very damaging events. Or, say, just standing within 10' of open lava would be lethal (to my understanding), not to mention contact or immersion. In a similar vein, the potential for healing most wounds simply isn't there. You can mend a broken bone (perhaps, but what about a compound fracture)? Many injuries have permanent repercussions, that is, don't ever fully heal, and leave a lingering partial disability. That means, right off, that one has to decide a level of "realism" for healing and damage, and have to decide how much to put in vigor (or exhaustion) as a property, and that will strongly color one's views on HP and the secondary issue of healing surges. What I'm hearing as a criticism of healing surges (as unrealistic) seems more a statement either about hit points themselves, and that can only work (in my view) as a criticism of healing surges to the degree that healing surges amplify the underlying problem of hit points. I'm also hearing, to a degree, complaints about how healing surges muddy the already murky description of hit points. I can agree with this, especially considering the term "healing surge", emphasis on "healing". Better, "heroic recovery" or "second wind", which are better aligned with renewed vigor, rather than the spontaneous healing of non-trivial injuries. I can definitely see a Warlord literally cussing a fellow out, loudly, to get back into a fight, as a way of providing a "heroic recover". (Although, that does run into a problem re: "Cure Wounds" from a Cleric.) TomB [/QUOTE]

Verification